Wild Billions: Bay Nature's Reporting on BIL and IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide billions of dollars for nature.

How is that changing the Bay Area?

And how do we know if it’s money well spent?

Bay Nature launched a reporting project called Wild Billions in 2023 to examine the impacts of this huge infusion of money—and the obstacles to keeping the big promises that came with it.

Dive into our data visualizations

Our map of funded projects

We’re tracking what nature projects have been funded so far in our area—like an experimental kelp-forest restoration, major upgrades to the Presidio, and a battle against Tahoe invasives. (Help us add projects if you know of them!)

Spending programs

We combed through hundreds of the funding programs Congress made in BIL and IRA, and found at least $106 billion for nature. What will the Bay Area get? See nature-related spending programs in our data viz.

How can I get some ‘Wild Billions’?

Applying for federal grants isn’t easy, especially for local governments and community groups. If you’ve got a worthy nature-related project—we’ve got some tips to get you started, and a searchable table of spending programs.

Send us a tip

President Donald Trump has begun making his mark on the federal government’s environmental work and policies, including BIL and IRA. If your environment-related work inside or outside the government is being affected, we’d like to hear how. Email wildbillions@baynature.org or contact one of our staff on Signal, an app for encrypted messaging and calls:

Tanvi Dutta Gupta, senior reporting fellow: colugo_68.21

Kate Golden, senior editor: cormorant.50

Victoria Schlesinger, editor in chief: VicSch.99

If you have sensitive information or are not authorized to speak with media, please take appropriate care to avoid leaving electronic tracks (here’s a Freedom of the Press Foundation guide). Anonymous tips are welcome, and documents can be mailed from public mailboxes to our office at 1328 6th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.

Stories in this project

What to Do When Your Highway Is Slipping Into the Sea

Picture a giant Rubik’s cube that costs $6–11 billion to solve. That’s State Route 37.
Unburned: An Investigation

To protect the Plumas National Forest and its communities from the next megafire, the Forest Service plans to burn it—intentionally. Can $274 million do the job?
The Epic Saga of the Verna A II, a Shoreline Menace No More

A derelict fishing vessel has finally been removed from a Sonoma County beach, after nine years. Waiting to do the cleanup more than doubled the cost.
Before the Clawbacks, This ‘Freaking Game-Changer’ for Nature Made It Rain

Trump has pulled back big parts of Biden’s signature climate laws. But BIL and IRA have already awarded at least $1.4 billion to Bay Area nature.
How Bay Nature Tracked the Wild Billions

Bay Nature staff in 2023 began to follow money for San Francisco Bay Area nature from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. First, we pored through White House data on the programs Congress funded to find ones related … Read more
Map: Where Oodles of Federal Dollars for Nature Have Gone

BIL and IRA spending on nature in the greater San Francisco Bay Area has topped $1 billion, according to Bay Nature’s most recent tally for our Wild Billions project.
After 28 Years, Alameda Creek Opens Up To Fish

The last fish barrier is falling on mainstem Alameda Creek. It took almost three decades—and changed the watershed and the people who steward it.
How (and When) Can You Get Your Hands On California’s Climate Bond?

After L.A. wildfires and Trump cuts, Prop 4’s $10 billion for climate adaptation will be even more important—and competitive. Here’s what you need to know.
This Trump Change Could ‘Eviscerate’ the U.S. Endangered Species Act

A plan to redefine ‘harm’ could remove federal habitat protections from almost 100 Bay Area listed species. The proposal is now open for public comment until May 17.
Trump Is Destroying Historic Environmental Regulation—And Marin Audubon’s Name Got (Arbitrarily) Caught Up In It

A federal judge turned a routine lawsuit to protect birds at Point Reyes into his platform for attacking the National Environmental Policy Act’s foundational guidelines.